Meth 'one-pot bottle' blew up in man's hand

Monday

Dec 17, 2012 at 4:57 PMDec 17, 2012 at 5:01 PM

When Anderson County Sheriff's Department deputies recovered a stolen all-terrain vehicle in the Beech Grove community near Lake City, they also reportedly found items used to make methamphetamine in the ATV's toolbox.

by Beverly Majors/Staff

When Anderson County Sheriff's Department deputies recovered a stolen all-terrain vehicle in the Beech Grove community near Lake City, they also reportedly found items used to make methamphetamine in the ATV's toolbox.

In addition, they reportedly found a "one-pot bottle" in completed stages of a "meth cook."

When the homeowner of 116 Pine Hill Church Road came home, she told deputies she left 21-year-old Joey Douglas Seiber, 611 Beech Grove Lane, at her home while she was away and had given him a key. She reportedly gave deputies permission to search her home.

Inside, they found 28-year-old Jessica Ruth Davis of Knoxville and 35-year-old Jeffrey Scott Braden, 912 Vowell Mountain Lane, Briceville, as well as Seiber. Deputies ordered them all outside, where the three were detained, and later arrested.

Davis reportedly denied knowledge of a meth lab in the ATV, but later said Braden had cooked meth in the woods that morning. She said Braden told her a bottle blew up in his hands while shaking it.

Braden also denied knowledge of the lab or stolen ATV but told deputies he had made meth "several times."

Seiber told the deputies he had earlier seen Braden riding the ATV and said he has "known Braden to manufacture methamphetamine consistently since he was a kid."

A neighbor also told deputies Braden had been riding the ATV.

The meth lab reportedly blew up in Braden's hand while he was in the back yard. Deputies determined the back yard is within 1,000 feet of a community playground.

"The one-pot bottle malfunctions and caused it to blow up in his hands and could have possibly risked the health of children in the area of the community park," reports said.

All three were charged with initiation of meth manufacture, manufacture/deliver/sale/possess a controlled substance and violation of the drug-free school zone. Braden was additionally charged on a warrant for violation of probation.

Braden has a long criminal history of drug-related offenses in Anderson County and is currently serving a prison sentence though the Community Corrections Program. His sentence is to end in 2019.

All three were released from the Anderson County jail on Thursday after posting bond.